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Thread ID: 59976	2005-07-18 21:47:00	Summer Cleaning or Burn Down?	SurferJoe46 (51)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
373263	2005-07-18 21:47:00	I made mention that I like to "burn down" my OPSYS once every 6 months or so, and although it may make some people cringe to think about it or let alone do it, it looks like a good way to get rid of all that old stuff and bits and pieces on our drives . One exception that I make is to run a "before-and-after" port scan to see if things have gone away from or stayed the same as the security I have spent so much time installing to protect Mr . Bill's baby . Through trial and error I have found a lot of anti-spy stuff that plays well with each other . That said, the one site I trust a lot to check on my port security is Shields Up!! ( . grc . com/default . htm" target="_blank">www . grc . com) There are all sorts of tests here that are FREE and (without referral points I might add!) printable/saveable for later reference in case one has messed up the OPSYS reinstall . There is a lot (read: MUCHO) documentation for this site, and if one has the time as one should if one is running Windows anything . . . one should make it a must-read . Check it out and enjoy . . . . . . :thumbs: I would like to see what others use to test their web connex and security thing-ys . We install and use these anti-things all the time, but I like to know what it is they are doing for me .	SurferJoe46 (51)
373264	2005-07-18 23:17:00	SheildsUp has been around since before I came online in the mid 90's! When I first found it I read some of his stuff, but I sure wouldn't again... he's wayyyy too long-winded.	Greg (193)
373265	2005-07-18 23:52:00	I gotta agree with Greg, except I didnt have the guts to finish his speeches off... ;)	Chilling_Silence (9)
373266	2005-07-19 00:22:00	Hmmmmmm . . . and I thought he was correctly-winded! A man of my own kind! Verbose! Articulate! Arcane! Soap-box Inclined! Iconoclastic! Long as the day is honest!	SurferJoe46 (51)
373267	2005-07-19 00:56:00	Shields Up misses a lot of open ports. I have scanned a system with Shields Up, and then with nmap, and nmap correctly showed open ports that Shields Up did not.	vinref (6194)
373268	2005-07-19 01:07:00	I read about that too..it seems that ShieldsUp reports them one way and NMap reports them another. It is an in the eye of the beholder type thing...the glass is 1/2 full or 1/2 empty. They just scan from different (parallax) views, but mean the same thing. On the SU site, there is a full explanation of the thing..it's symantics that they choose to use the same (OPEN) term for different results.	SurferJoe46 (51)
373269	2005-07-19 01:24:00	I read about that too..it seems that ShieldsUp reports them one way and NMap reports them another. It is an in the eye of the beholder type thing...the glass is 1/2 full or 1/2 empty. They just scan from different (parallax) views, but mean the same thing. On the SU site, there is a full explanation of the thing..it's symantics that they choose to use the same (OPEN) term for different results. That's a dangerous view. If Shields Up convinces the user that a port is "stealthed" when it is actually fully open and visible, then that is a security risk. Nmap is an open source tool, so anyone and his dog can be running it. If you run it right, you can detect the operating system, firewall ruleset as well as open ports on the target machine.	vinref (6194)
373270	2005-07-19 12:24:00	Not only that but it can be used to detect versions of certain running applications. Ive been able to use nMap in combination of another security diagnosis website to tell the version of Ssh, mysql, apache, linux kernel, and ftp daemon (All of which happened to be vulnerable on one particular box I scanned almost a year back of a friends). Gotta love nmap!!	Chilling_Silence (9)
373271	2005-07-19 17:12:00	OK, I got it and will run it..ty for the info...more to learn.	SurferJoe46 (51)
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